A neighbourhood group in north Toronto is organizing a yard sale on Saturday hoping to raise the tens of thousands of dollars it needs to help pay for its three-year fight against a proposed rental development in the area.

The South Eglinton Ratepayers' and Residents' Association (SERRA) calls its efforts a "struggle" because of the work it has had to do following the developer's appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) after the city of Toronto rejected the high-rise rental proposal last year.

"We think it's pathetic when the developer has deep pockets and we have to [hold a yard sale] in order to make the money to take him on," said Jane Auster as she surveyed board games and children's toys spread across her neighbour's living room floor.

Two towers

But even if they do raise the money they need, that's no guarantee of success. The OMB has long been criticized for favouring developers, allowing them to successfully appeal decisions by cities to reject their proposals.

The proposed development at the corner of Redpath Avenue and Soudan Avenue in the Yonge and Eglinton area will include two towers, both 24 storeys, with a total of 369 units.

If they're built, they'll be located across the street from single-family houses, including the home of Leslie Chiswell, who has lived there since 1992.

CBC Toronto reached out to the developer, Malen Capital, but did not receive a response.

The developer bought up homes along Soudan Avenue, just east of Yonge Street and south of Eglinton Avenue East. (Lisa Xing/CBC)

"It is incredibly unfair to the community," Chiswell told CBC Toronto, mentioning the Yonge-Eglinton area is already a densely populated neighbourhood that, in recent years, has seen a large number of homes bought up by developers for condo projects.

Ward 22 Coun. Josh Matlow has been pushing for reform of the OMB for years.

OMB a 'crapshoot,' urban designer says

Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario, a provincial agency that includes the OMB, says it "focuses on the principles of good planning, while keeping the public's best interests in mind."

But the process is a "crapshoot," urban designer Ken Greenberg told CBC Toronto.

"It's expensive; it's reductive in the way it talks about things; it's very formal; it's very intimidating," he said. "People get cross examined as if they were in a criminal court, which is not really appropriate."

"I'd like to see a planning regime where quality of life, social services and infrastructure and development work hand in glove," he said, maintaining he and residents are calling for "reasonable" development. For Chiswell and Auster, "reasonable" development would mean buildings with fewer than 10 storeys.

Meanwhile, the neighbours continue to tag items for the yard sale. "The people with the least amount of money have to do the most amount of work. That's not right," said Auster.

Corrections

In a previous version of this story it referred to the proposed development as a condo development, when in fact it is a rental development.